Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Bacon, blue cheese, and dates make the perfect sweet and salty combo. This is my go-to party appetizer, because it is super easy to make and always a crowd pleaser. I discovered it once at a friend's party, and I have been addicted ever since.

You probably recognize this appetizer because I've posted it on my blog before. I wasn't thrilled about how the pictures in the original post turned up, so I decided to do an update post. I love this appetizer so much that I had to do it justice with better pics!

Ingredients:

1 package of dried, pitted dates (about 30 dates)

1 container crumbled blue cheese

1 (12 oz.) package of bacon (cut raw bacon strips in the middle if they are very long strips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice each date on top, stuff with as much blue cheese as it can hold, wrap in bacon, and secure with a tooth pick. Repeat with the remaining dates. Simple right?

Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or until bacon is crispy. Usually i also like to turn the dates halfway through so that they crisp up evenly on all sides.

Serve warm.

Note: If you're taking it to a friend's house, bake the dates for about 10 minutes at your place so you are not traveling with raw bacon. When you arrive at your destination, bake for another 5 minutes or so until bacon is crispy.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Yesterday we had a SNOW DAY!! I can't believe it's the middle of March and I have 2 feet of snow outside my door. I love being snowed it because I dedicate my time to recipe testing, watching movies, and eating delicious homemade food.

This is a copy cat recipe of one my favorite breakfast spots called Sunset Cafe. I love going to Sunset Cafe but some days it is absolutely impossible to get in. Lines are usually out the door, and during the winter, standing outside is usually not an option. So, I decided to recreate the dish myself. It wasn't hard to make as the ingredients are extremely simple! Not only is this dish flavorful but there are so many beautiful colors on the plate. It definitely brightens your day!!

Note: The onions are pickled overnight so you'll want to prep this ahead of time.

Serving: 4 people Ingredients:

8 Slices of Toast

2-3 Avocados

1/2 of a Red Onion

2 Limes

Goat Cheese, crumbled

1 Jalapeno, sliced

4 Eggs

Recipe:

Overnight, you will want to pickle your red onions. This is what gives the onions a bright pink color. Thinly slice the red onion and squeeze the lime juice of two limes over the onions. Let it sit overnight (or for at least 4-5 hours).

Toast your bread and set aside.

Mash together the avocados to achieve a smooth consistency. Add a tad of salt and pepper.

Cook your eggs to your preference. I love over easy or poached so you can get that glorious runny yolk.

Assemble your toast by spreading the avocado onto the toast, then place your egg in the middle.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

A favorite Irish dish of mine is corned beef, mostly because I love reubens. It's the combination of the buttery bread, salty corned beef, crunchy sauerkraut, creamy dressing, and melted swiss cheese that gets me every time. Since I can always get the perfect reuben sandwich at my local irish pub, I've never tried to make it at home before. In honor of Saint Patrick's Day this year though, I decided to give it a try. It turned out even better than I expected. The hardest part about this recipe is waiting all day for it to cook in the crockpot! Patience is certainly not one of my best qualities.

I wish the picture showed a little bit more of the corned beef because it is definitely the star of the sandwich. I decided to cook it in the slow cooker so that the corned beef would be super tender. The recipe below is for a classic reuben sandwich. You'll see pickled onions in the picture too because I LOVE pickled onions and I had some extra in the fridge. If you'd like to add some pickled onions to your reuben as well, squeeze lime juice on top of thinly sliced red onions, and let it sit for a few hours ,or overnight if you can, in the fridge. Add the onions in place of the sauerkraut, or with the sauerkraut like I did!

I love this slow cooker recipe because you can make so many fun dishes with the extra corned beef like irish nachos, a reuben dip, or even reuben potato skins! There are so many options! Below I included the slow cooker corned beef recipe along with how to make the classic reuben sandwich.

Slow Cooker Corned BeefIngredients

2 corned beef briskets with spice packets (about 3 pounds each)

1/8 cup of black peppercorns

7 garlic cloves, peeled

2 bay leaves

2 beers

water

Recipe

Place beef briskets in a slow cooker with one of the spice packets (discard the other one), black peppercorns, garlic cloves, and bay leaves.

Cover brisket with beer. If beer does not fully cover the top of the briskets, then add water until liquid is covering briskets.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

Reuben

Ingredients

corned beef from slow cooker recipe above

sauerkraut (I found mine by the pickles in the deli section of my grocery store)

sliced swiss cheese

sliced marble rye bread

thousand island dressing

butter

Recipe

Once beef briskets are cooked, take the briskets out of slow cooker and let it rest on a cutting board.

Discard the liquid in the slow cooker and cut out any excess fat from brisket.

Slice the corned beef.

Take two slices of bread. On each slice of bread, butter one side.

Place one slice of bread butter side down in a skillet on medium heat.

On top of the slice of bread add one slice of swiss cheese, then sliced corned beef, then sauerkraut, then thousand island dressing.

Top with a second slice of swiss cheese, then the second slice of bread butter side up.

Cook for a couple minutes letting the bread on the bottom to become golden brown, then flip.

Cook for another minute or two until both sides are golden brown and cheese is melted.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

I absolutely love this dip! It's a cheesy cream cheese dip, but still tastes fresh since it is topped with salsa, lettuce, and tomatoes. Everyone always seems to love it.

It is definitely one of my favorite party appetizers to make. It's fast and easy, and I can throw it together in no time. I also love that it is a cold dip. Since I don't have to worry about baking it, I can transport it easily to someone else's house. It's also great to make if I know my oven will be crowded with other things.

You can top the cream cheese mixture with any of your favorite taco toppings. I usually stick with mild salsa, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce since most people tend to approve of those toppings. If you and your crowd are a fan of olives, scallions, and jalopenos, however, then I would add them too! I have a friend who hates onions and a boyfriend who hates spicy things so I always have to keep them in mind! If it was up to me, I'd be using jalopenos, spicy salsa, and hot sauce on top! I like thinks spicy, but since most people don't, I usually keep this dip as mild as possible. Don't be afraid to customize the dip based on what you love. Hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) container sour cream

2 (8 oz) packages of softened cream cheese

1 package of taco seasoning

1 (16 oz) jar of salsa

2 cups of grated cheddar cheese

1 large tomato, diced

shredded lettuce

tortilla chips

Recipe:

Using a hand mixer, mix together sour cream, cream cheese, and taco seasoning.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

This is by far one of the easiest weeknight dinner recipes on my
rotation list. It takes only 5 minutes max to prep, and the chicken and
tomatoes take 20 minutes or less to cook. Yes, I have to admit that I
use jarred pre-made pesto sauce. That is why this recipe is so fast and
easy. If you have pesto ingredients and are feeling like an over
achiever, by all means make your own pesto. Either way, it will taste
delicious!

Thursday, October 20, 2016

There is nothing like fall in New England. A couple weekends ago, we took a day to drive around to different farm stands. I wanted to find some pumpkins and fall directions to decorate the house.

We ended up finding Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, Rhode Island. It was the perfect place for everything fall! They had apple picking, pumpkin picking, as well as a small market and cafe. It was adorable. We ended up getting a wheel barrel and picking some great pumpkins. It was my first time pumpkin picking EVER so I was very enthusiastic!! I picked up the wheel barrel and was ready to get to work.

I ended up getting six pumpkins but I wanted even more! There were so many unique pumpkins to choose from. I especially wanted some white pumpkins and some heirloom pumpkins. No regular old orange pumpkins for me!! lol!

We came home and decorated the porch with the pumpkins we picked. We also got some hay and mums from a couple other farm stands near by. I think it makes home feel so cozy.

So far, my fall bucket list is going well. There are so many fun fall things to do. Next, is Halloween activities, and I can't wait.